Track sander



April 24, 1951 h I G. T. SHOTWELL 2,550,608

' TRACK SANDER Filed March 15, 1949 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.

Inventor George- 7'. Shame/l By a Attorneys Patented Apr. 24, 1951 OFF-ICE A TRACK .SA-NDER George T.Sho'twell, @Qovington, Ky.

Application March 15, 1949, Sqlial;N0.'81;4l5

The p esent inventiontrelates'to ew and 11 erated railwa zcars.

Ani mportantpbiect lot the vention i t rmvide a sand be); secured ito the platform of a railway car and'having a slopingbottom with a discharge opening at its lower end from which .aspoutileads-toa position-for .depositingsthessand in front of a railway wheel, the flow of sand being controlled by a valve or cover for the opening moved manually in a vertical direction to open or close the valve.

A further object of the invention is to provide spring means for holding the valve in its closed position and a manually operated lever for opening the valve.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the sand box secured to the underside of the car platform;

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a modified sand box construction for mounting on top of the platform of a railway car and with parts broken away and shown in section;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view with parts shown in section;

Figure 6 is an end elevational view also with parts shown in section, and

Figure '7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on a line 'l-1 of Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and first with respect to the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, the numeral 5 designates the sand box which is preferably constructed of sheet metal and secured to the underside of the platform 3 of a railway car by means of rivets or other suitable fasteners I.

The bottom 8 and sides 9 of the box slope toward one end to a flat bottom ll provided with a discharge opening l2 with a spout 13 connected thereto.

-A flat disk -like valve or1oover -I 4 is positioned over opening 12 "and is suitably secured at the lower end of a rod l5 which extends upwardly --in :chamber ll] and through an opening H5 in the "top :of the box ato a :position above {the :platform 6. The upper end of rod 15 iszsuitablycon- Tnected toioneend :of qa;footflever alt] which iszpiyotally supported :in 28111133 63118.1236. position .aboxe platform 6 by a pair of spaced parallel posts l8. The opposite end of lever I1 is provided with a foot tread I9 and a coiled spring connects the end of lever I1 adjacent rod I5 to the platform 6 to hold said end of the lever downwardly to maintain valve [4 in a closed position.

A filling opening 2| is formed in platform 6 and top of box 5 and which is closed by a removable cover plate 22.

In the operation of the device sand placed in box 5 will gravitate toward opening l2 and may be discharged through spout l3, when desired, by pressing downwardly on tread I9 of the foot lever IT to open the valve.

In the form of invention illustrated in Figures 4 to 7 inclusive the platform of the railway car is shown at 23 and on top of which the sand box 24 is secured. The box is formed with a sloping bottom 25 and a sloping side wall 26 to a chamber 21 at the lower corner of the box. The remaining corners of the box are supported in a raised position by legs 28 of angle iron construction welded or otherwise suitably secured to the box and also suitably secured to the platform 23. The chamber 21 at the lower corner of box 24 is provided with a flat bottom 29 having a discharge opening 30 to which a spout 3| is attached. The disk-like valve or cover for the opening-is shown at 32 and is suitably secured to the lower end of a rod 33 which is slidable vertically in guides 34 in a housing 35 positioned internally of the box 24 above chamber 21. The upper portion of rod 33 is formed with a horizontal portion 3'6 which projects outwardly through an opening 31 in the adjacent end walls of the box 24, the outer end of the rod being formed with an upstanding stem 38.

The stem 38 is connected to the lower end of a vertical link 39 by means of a U-shaped connector 40, the link being slidable in a guide 4| suitably secured to box 24 and the upper end of the link is pivoted to a hand lever 42 which is pivotally attached at one end to the box as shown at 43 while the other end of the lever is formed with a handle 44 which projects laterally outwardly at one side of box 24.

A coil spring 45 is positioned between guide 4| and a washer 46 suitably secured to the stem 38, the spring holding rod 33 and valve 32 downwardly in its closed position. In this form of the invention the valve 32 is raised into its open position by lifting upwardly on handle 44 and lever 42.

The box 24 is also provided with a filler opening 41 having a cover plate 48 removably secured thereover.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A sanding device for vehicles comprising a substantially rectangular sand box having a sloping bottom and a sloping side, sloping toward an outlet at one corner of the box, legs supporting the remaining corners of the box on a part of a vehicle, said box having a vertical slot in one end adjacent its lowermost corner, a housing in the box behind said slot, a valve closing the outlet, a rod extending upwardly from the valve into the housing and outwardly through the slot, guide means carried by the housing for the rod, a spring on the outer end of the rod closing the valve, and a manually operated lever connected to the outer end of the rod for opening the valve.

GEORGE T. SHOTWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France May 6, 1930 

